Did you know? After being sacked from CNN-IBN, Sardesai has been in his new job at "Headlines Today" for only around two weeks (since Sept 11, 2014) and he has already behaved like a street-goonda and a disgrace to his employers (TV Channel) by throwing punches with Indians abroad.

The British authorities, incited by the church, are implying that all Hindu religious festivals are casteist and inviting legal action under the new anti-caste provisions of the Equality Bill. Some prominent Hindus are supporting the authorities!

The shocking implication or the underlying thread of the BBC's view/radio discussion seems to be that the Caste legislation would seek to ban such a key religious events as Navratri on the grounds of alleged caste discrimination!

I am sure you are aware that a significant number of Hindus and Jains feel very hurt with the way the House Of Lords handled the debate on Caste amendment legislation several months ago when some of them expressed very hostile and derogatory views about Hindus and Hindu faith. If you want, we can send the details of this to you.

Since then Hindus have been requesting that whichever publicly funded body wants to discuss Caste , they should first be totally aware of the current Caste Debate following the abuse dished out to Hindus in Houses of parliament and be unbiased in the way they handle, approach, coordinate and manage the Caste debate.

You may also be aware that the Parliament supported the legislation on Caste without first agreeing a definition of Caste! This has caused serious problems, challenges and concerns. This matter of definition of caste, we believe, is now being scrutinised by many organisations both Governmental and non governmental.

We are not saying there should be no debate but given BBC's hostility, real or perceived, towards India and Hindus it is important that whoever is making a decision to host this caste debate within a British context should ensure they have proper and full knowledge to begin with, that the discussion be conducted with fairness and in an unbiased approach. On this bases, we hold that the BBC has failed.

So within this context, could you please give your response to the following questions?

1) How was this topic considered, the reasons for considering it and by whom?

2) Could you let us know which definition of Caste BBC was using in the broadcast?

3) What research was conducted by your researchers and journalists into how organisations celebrate and organise Navratri? Which Gujarati organisations did you consult/approach to get details of their policy and approach to this Navratri festival?

'Yet in 2008, when Lt Gen Akhtar was a brigadier attending a one-year course at the US Army War College, he wrote a 6,313-word paper entitled: "US-Pakistan trust deficit and the war on terror". This spelt out his views on America; militant Islam; the roiling Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, where Pakistan's army is currently fighting; and Pakistan's relations with India.'

'The rise of non-state actors in terrorism can be traced back to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. At that time, apart from Pakistan taking the lead and becoming a frontline state in the fight against the Soviet invasion, they encouraged, religiously motivated youth to come under the umbrella of various terrorist organisations and that is where Al Qaeda under Osama Bin Laden came into being. Pakistan thought that it would be able to control these Jihadi groups but the script went awry.

A slump in economic activity since the fall of 2007 and then constantly falling economic indices (e.g. the fall of Lehman Brothers in the US). The credit market collapsed in tandem with rising military budgets of some of the developing and developed nations.

Terrorism is a double-edged weapon. It is like a wicked dog, which often bites the hand that feeds it.' India experienced it with Bhindranwale and LTTE of Sri Lanka during the 1980s. Pakistan is realising it now, after sponsoring the Afghan Mujahideen in the 1980s and the 1990s. Even the Pakistan military, which supported and controlled them earlier, is finding it difficult to control the situation in FATA and other areas of the NWFP'.

My take – How does one deal with Governments using NGO's to create unrest in a country and overthrow governments. India receives over $ 2 billion from the U.S.& Europe, what comes thru the Hawala route is unknow.

'In fact, no matter how close the relationship between India and the U.S. grows, India will not be a major player on the American team. The 'rebalancing' strategy consists of three parts - politics, economy and security. However, Indian national power is not sufficiently strong in any one of the three aspects. The unsolved territorial disputes will not affect the development of Sino-India relations. China and India vowed to forge a closer development partnership when Chinese President Xi Jinping finished his state visit to India a week ago. It is unrealistic for America to rely on India to play a leading role in its "rebalance in Asia-Pacific" strategy. There is little prospect of India and the U.S. reaching consensus on Chinese issues.'

5. Hong Kong SAR time to stand with the people 30/9/14 http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2014/09/hong-kong-sar-time-to-stand-with-people.htmlThe following statement issued by Occupy Central with Love and Peace in Response to the Chief Executive. ( September 29, 2014, Hong Kong SAR, Sri Lanka Guardian) Since Hong Kong citizens began to use civil disobedience as a means to struggle for universal suffrage, the Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has refused to enter direct dialogue with the public. Instead, he has unilaterally spoken on television to criticize the Occupy Central movement. The Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP) movement strongly condemns this, and believe Leung 's non-response to the people's demands has driven Hong Kong into a crisis of disorder. OCLP strongly demands that Leung Chun-ying resign to create a space for political reform and to defuse the crisis in our society.'

well, it's always risky when you try to delve into an alien culture. who's this bleeding brit, anyway? but atanu is right, the gap with american pop culture is a bit much to bridge.

but i must confess i have always hated xmen, never been a fan of hugh jackman (or of star wars for that matter). the great aussie imports into hollywood included brian "breaker morant" brown, russell "gladiator" crowe, the gorgeous nicole kidman, mel "mad max" gibson.

This little clip from John Oliver. He is pretty funny. Of course it should not be taken seriously but it points to a serious matter: Modi should avoid opening himself to ridicule. If he indeed intended to be funny, he needs to smile to indicate he was kidding. Otherwise it seems as if he is clueless that he has misinterpreted the meaning of what he said.

Gross: Fried cockroach found with French fries in McDonald's Bangalore. Grosser: Choosing to go to McDonald's for your daughter's birthday.

Bill Clinton: "GDP growth doesn't lead to growth in median incomes because company after company takes more of its profits and spends it on dividends, stock buybacks, management increases ... and less on sharing it with the employees broadly."

Abandon all hope: Hopelessness from a spiritual point of view can also be termed choicelessness,ie. having no other choice than to honor the present moment completely and gracefully. As Eckhart Tolle describes in The Power of Now, “Waiting is a state of mind which makes you want the future, not the present. You don’t want what you have got, and what you have is what you don’t want. With every kind of waiting you create conflict between your here and now, where you don’t want to be and the projected future where you want to be. This greatly reduces the quality of your life making you lose the present.”

So when we embrace hopelessness we cease to look for exit routes, and instead honor, acknowledge and accept the now as it is. We let go of our inner resistance and surrender to the moment with complete acceptance.

A large dust storm can be seen in the upper left of the image. Because of MOM's unique elongated orbit, majestic pictures of the entire planet can be taken routinely - something which none of the other orbiters sent from Earth are able to do. The details in this image are superior to images provided by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Go Solar: Solar thermal is expected to go below $25 – $30 per barrel (cost equivalence with oil) in the next 10 years.

What it costs to go solar today: Net-metering (the surplus you produce from your panels go to the electricity grid and you get a net balance in your favour including actual cash), can make solar revolution possible.

Chittagong SEZ: Bangladesh offers Indian companies land for SEZs, while seeking a new line of soft credit and
collaboration in launching its satellite.

'India's willingness to endorse China's Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor has been puzzling, as it risks propelling our northeast into China's orbit. Modi has added a caveat by declaring "our efforts to rebuild physical connectivity in the region would also require a peaceful, stable and cooperative environment. As a condition for opening Nathu La for the Mansarovar Yatra, we seem to have yielded to China's cajolement to indirectly accord recognition once again to the Tibetan Autonomous Region being an integral part of China through an awkward and peculiar formulation. Almost all the "agreements" signed during the visit, including on railway cooperation, are non-binding MOUs.

'Or border trade regulations are crafted by mandarins in North Block and Udyog Bhavan, New Delhi, who have no idea either of the ground situation along the India-Myanmar border or the pragmatism that China shows in treating the markets across its land borders with its neighbours, not as foreign markets, but as extensions of China's own markets.

Moreover, the "Kaladan Multimodal Corridor" linking our north-eastern states to the Bay of Bengal through the Port of Sittwe in Myanmar will be useful only if Sittwe becomes the key port for India-Myanmar trade.

In the mid-1990s Myanmar offered us hydro-electric projects across rivers near our borders. We took over a decade to scrutinise these projects, which companies in South Korea had earlier offered to construct. After nearly two decades, we backed off. Our private companies similarly have not been able to avail offers of land for agriculture across Myanmar. India was offered hundreds of acres of land with bamboo plantations for making paper pulp'.

'A China-India axis would tilt the balance of power against the United States, calling into question the future of its alliances with nations like Japan, and the ability of the U.S. to lead globally. By contrast, a U.S.-India partnership would make it more difficult for China to challenge American leadership in Asia and the world.

As one Indian strategist put it: "We didn't seek a strategic partnership with America because we thought you'd go into decline but because we expected you to remain strong -- and to lead." Obama should heed this message when he meets India's prime minister.'

'Xi has also either selected, or approved the selection, of senior PLA commanders. Particularly, the commander of the Lanzhou military region which includes the Ladakh region in its overall area of responsibility, was promoted by Xi and has publicly expressed fealty to him. The political commissar of the Lanzhou region has also benefited from a promotion given by Xi this July.'

Monday, September 22, 2014

After sleeping for 300 days, India's Mars Orbiter spacecraft awakened to successfully test-fire its engines, in preparation for its main insertion maneuver on Wednesday, which will place it into Mars orbit:

If all goes well, ISRO will become the 4th space agency to successfully put a spacecraft into orbit around Mars - the first to do so on a maiden attempt. (Technically, since the European mission was launched by a Russian Soyuz rocket, India would be the 3rd to succeed all-indigenously).

With the awakening and test-firing out of the way, one of the key hurdles has been crossed. Various previous attempts by others had seen their spacecraft fail to awaken after such a long dormancy, given the cold conditions of space and the dangers of cosmic rays.

Meanwhile, NASA's Maven spacecraft has arrived in Mars orbit a couple of days ahead of ISRO's, with both teams giving each other best wishes. Both teams have formed a joint panel to look at possible cooperation between the 2 missions. ISRO's MOM will likely reach Mars with fuel to spare.

Any deal with China that involves legally giving Aksai Chin or COK to the Chinese would require prior approval of the J&K State Government since the area formed part of the Princely State of J&K which became part of India thru the Instrument of Accession.

'The following post-1997 data, given in chronological order could be relevant to what has been said above: Gives details of each intrusion. To understand the framework, what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping said (Speech delivered at a party Politburo Study session convened on 28 January 2013) are important. He declared that "China will never pursue its development at the cost of sacrificing interests of other countries …. We will never give up our legitimate rights and will never sacrifice our national core interests. No country should presume that we will engage in trade involving our core interests or that we will swallow the 'bitter fruit' of harming our sovereignty, security or development interests". India therefore needs to obtain official clarification from China whether the PRC accepts Ladakh as part of India. There is a possibility that the intrusions can expand further and lead to a India-China 'local war'. Border talks could go on endlessly, but China cannot be expected to shed its consistent claim on the entire Arunachal Pradesh, being called by it as 'Southern Tibet'. India's response should therefore be based on a long term strategy aimed at strengthening its defence preparedness against any Chinese misadventure. India-China trust deficit still persists due to the issues dividing them strategically; suffice to point out that in the background of their different strategic outlook, New Delhi and Beijing may face an uphill task in establishing mutual trust. - See more at: http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/node/1617#sthash.11k1Y2NR.dpuf

'Historically Tibet has never been a province of China. It has been autonomous over the centuries. China had loose control over it under Manchu Tributary system similar to the one it exercised over Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan where their rulers paid tribute to China and possessed Chinese official rank. Not many people may be aware that in AD 763, Tibet conquered large parts of Western China and the then Emperor of China was forced to marry Princess Wencheng to the Tibetan King Song Tsnen Gam Po.

Around the ninth century, Tibet came under Buddhist influence and by the thirteenth century, almost entire Tibet converted to Buddhism. The hand that held the sword was now supporting a prayer wheel. The concept of the Dalai Lama, which was Mongolian in origin, also came into being during this time. Tibet's troubles seem to have started with the Lama getting used to ruling with foreign support.

By the beginning of the twentieth century Tibet had become the Great Game pawn between China, Britain and Russia. On the pretext of sending a trade mission to Tibet, British troops entered Tibet, resulting in the conclusion of a Treaty in 1904 between Tibet and Britain. Obviously the Treaty was concluded on unequal terms. China played the role of a bystander totally ignoring her responsibility, if any. The treaty was bilateral and clearly signified the independent status of Tibet. The Manchu court refused to countersign the Treaty as it failed to recognize Chinese suzerainty over Tibet. On protracted negotiations, China concluded a treaty in 1906 with Great Britain which prevented Tibet from concluding direct negotiations with any foreign power without the consent of China.

From this geo-political perspective, the building of a road through the Aksai Chin area gained salience. The road through Aksai Chin area comprised one of the three main routes to Tibet from the rest of China. It was also a route which was open year-round and least hazardous and in turns also least expensive. Therefore, control of Aksai Chin was perceived as essential in Chinese strategy to control the whole of Tibet.

Tibet and Tibetan ethnic areas are endowed with the greatest river system in the world. Its rivers supply fresh water to 85% of Asia's population and approximately 50% of the world's population.

It may be noted that China uses the Tibetan plateau for the development of its nuclear bombs.

Chinese cannot accept Indian claims to Aksai Chin since the strategic Western Highway passes through it and captured area provides depth to the Western Highway. The point to note here is that after the 1962 War the Chinese withdrew from Eastern Sector, but, not from Ladakh.

In the Eastern Sector, if the Chinese agree to the Mc Mahon Line as the boundary, it will amount to a tacit admission that in 1914, Tibet was an independent country which negotiated the Mc Mahon Line with the British. This weakens the entire Chinese case that Tibet has always been a part of China. China cannot afford to grant autonomy to Tibet since its Western provinces, especially the ones with Muslim majority may seek the same status. This may become the trigger for break up of China one day.

'At the substantive level, however, MSR is conceptualised to serve two purposes: to re-energise relations with neighbours through effective use of naval diplomacy and; to respond to the US' rebalancing towards Asia in diplomatic terms. '

i hope richard rahul verma is not another bobby piyush jindal type turncoat.

alas, he is likely to be anti-india and anti-hindu, given that he was part of the hillary clinton team (let us note that hillary's right-hand-woman is huma abedin, a pakistani-american whose ancestors were indian hyderabad razakars iirc). no wonder, given the way the previous amb nancy something was towards india. (btw, nancy was the butchest diplomat i have ever seen. don't you agree?)

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

As the people of Scotland prepare to vote on independence from Britain, everyone recognizes that regardless of outcome, the vote will change the UK forever. Even if the independence vote fails, London has committed to devolving more powers to Scotland if it stays in the UK.

What will happen to the economies of Scotland and the remainder of the UK? What will happen to the well-known British flag, which is a composite of English and Scottish flags? Will the remainder of the UK remain intact? What will happen to British nukes? What about UK's permanent seat on the UNSC? What will happen to the EU? What will be the effect on numerous separatist movements around the world, including those trying to separate from India?

Since a huge share of Labour MPs are elected from Scotland, its secession from the UK would leave the UK Labour Party in the political wilderness, while the Conservatives would have an easy lock on power. Whatever short-term satisfaction they might gain from assisting a separatist movement, UK-based Kashmiri separatists are likely to see their influence diminish in a UK sans Scotland.

The separatist leader Alex Salmond has presented a very breezy picture of Scotland achieving independence without serious costs, and turning into a dreamy Scandinavian type of society, courtesy of the North Sea oil reserves off the Scottish coast. However, some oil-rich Scottish territories may be whispering of seeking independence from Scotland, should it secede from the UK.

Better not let the Congress Party hear about this, or they'll be signing many such treaties with China.

Canada's ruling party claims this treaty is beneficial for the country because by lowering the risk to Chinese investments, it will encourage more Chinese money to flow into Canada. That's literally their sole argument.

Meanwhile, China gets the opportunity to fight cases in Canadian courts to overturn laws they find inimical to them, without any requirement for the case to be disclosed to the public while it's being fought. China in no way cedes any new market access to Canada. Chinese investments will face no public scrutiny or foreign investment review. Such investment deals may even be allowed irrespective of obligations to aboriginal communities.

Man Tries to Sell Off Teen as Slave, Arrested

CHENNAI: A 25-year-old man from Assam, was arrested on the charge of attempting to sell a teenage boy, here on Friday. The teen was rescued after a tip off from an auto driver.

Police said Moinul (25) of Guwahati had got his neighbour Manik (18) a job at a tea shop back in Assam. But, the latter registered a complaint against him over poor wages. However, Moinul convinced the boy's parents to withdraw the complaint, promising to place the teenager in a better place in Tamil Nadu. He first found Manik a job at a timber shop in Tiruchy six months ago, but the teen again complained of meagre wages. According to police, Moinul was irked by the police complaint and decided to exact vengeance, and brought Manik to Chennai.

After reaching here, Moinul made him wait inside CMBT at Koyambedu and went out looking for prospective buyers. Police said he negotiated with a tea shop owner nearby, but could not get Rs 3 lakh that he wanted.

In a last ditch effort, Moinul approached the auto-rickshaw and taxi stands, and offered commission to anyone who could find a buyer willing to pay Rs 3 lakh for the boy. Some of the drivers there noted down his number, and an auto driver among them, Dinesh, alerted the local police. Police officials called Moinul pretending to be prospective buyers, and asked him to wait near the auto stand. A team of plain clothesmen offered Rs 3.50 lakh. To gain his trust, they showed him Rs 50,000 advance money.

Moinul readily agreed and fetched the teen from the bus stand and handed him over to the cops in disguise. The personnel immediately disclosed their identity and took both Moinul and Manik in their custody. Manik told the police that he was under the impression that Moinul was looking for a job for him using his contacts and had no clue about his intentions.

'Vietnam's long outstanding requests to India for sale of the Brahmos Missile need to be honoured and other missiles too. If China could assist Pakistan with nuclear weapons build-up and a wide variety of ballistic missiles with strike reach to the Indian heartland, what holds back India to assist Vietnam?

'Such comments in the op-ed showed China's difficulty in coming to terms with Modi's readiness to improve India's relations with China to do business while showing equal keenness to improve strategic cooperation with Japan. One of the key objectives of President Xi's talks with Modi will be to wean away India from the lure of Japan. So it is not surprising Beijing is holding out a carrot of $ 100 billion Chinese investment in India. And the huge delegation of leading lights of Chinese business and five major banks accompanying the Chinese President underscores President Xi's serious efforts to win over Modi.[v][v] But the reported Chinese troops' intrusion into Indian territory in Ladakh (in Demchok sector) on September 11, even in the midst of all media hype on Xi's visit, exposes the soft underbelly of India-China relations. And this is where Japan has an edge over China in dealing with India.'

'From the above it can be seen that Indian territories were once right up to the Hindukush Mountains, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, parts of Burma, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Portions of Tibet too were annexed by India. Not many would be aware of the captured Chinese flag brought by Maharaja Ranjit Singh that adorns the officer's mess of an infantry battalion of the Indian Army. Then, Indian troops of British India were posted at Yatung. The Chinese may need to read up on India's history and whether going by Chinese standards, India should start claiming all these territories?

But in the case of Tibet and India, China's stratagem is based on Mao Zhedong's statement endorsed by Deng Xiaoping, in saying, "Tibet is the palm of China and Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and NEFA are its fingers".

Logically, if China wants India to sign on the dotted line of 'One China' policy, it should do likewise accepting 'One India' including 'recognizing the accession of the State of J&K to India on 26 October 1947'. Sure that would make Chinese occupation of the Shaksgam Valley and Aksai Chin illegal but that can be negotiated between the special representatives of both countries charged with negotiating the border.'

'Pres Sang affirmed that Vietnam is a key pillar in India's 'Look East' policy, as well as in its relations with ASEAN, and India wants to broaden this strategic partnership with Vietnam. Presidents Sang and Mukherjee noted with satisfaction the effective cooperation in national defence and security between the two countries in recent times, saying this is a key pillar in bilateral strategic partnership. They said the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Indian provision of US$100 million in credit loans for Vietnam's defence sector will open up new opportunities for bilateral cooperation in the area.'

12. Chinese targetted by Phillipine nationalism editorial global times 16/9/14 http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/881623.shtml. 'A Chinese citizen sustained life-threatening injuries after being shot in Meycauayan in Bulacan Province of the Philippines on Saturday. He is the third Chinese citizen to be targeted in the Philippines in the space of five days after two Chinese nationals were abducted on September 8 and 11.

My take – Chinese learning from the Muslims, first attack be aggressive, when other party says something then play victim card.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Steve J restricted kids' gadgets usage: “So, your kids must love the iPad?” I asked Mr. Jobs, trying to change
the subject. The company’s first tablet was just hitting the shelves.
“They haven’t used it,” he told me. “We limit how much technology our
kids use at home.” I’m sure I responded with a gasp and dumbfounded silence. I had imagined
the Jobs’s household was like a nerd’s paradise: that the walls were
giant touch screens, the dining table was made from tiles of iPads and
that iPods were handed out to guests like chocolates on a pillow. Nope, Mr. Jobs told me, not even close.

Toyota's New Transit Idea: Not
only do these small EVs make more sense than a full-sized
gas-guzzling car for the lone commuter, the new system also helps make the idea of
car-sharing more convenient and palatable.